Conventional vehicles include air intake systems that supply air to an internal combustion engine. The primary function of many air intake systems is to maximize airflow required for power generation or cooling. Some intake systems also supply filtered air for positive crankshaft ventilation, idle and/or air diverters. For internal combustion engines air is routed through a vehicle grill and into the air filter assembly.
Under certain conditions water, snow and other particles can enter the air intake system and degrade functionality and performance. Air flow can be significantly restricted. Snow build up can cause vehicle power loss and stalling.
Some of the prior art attempts to solve these problems by generating an S-shaped or serpentine air flow underneath the vehicle hood. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,237,635 published as U.S. Patent Application No. 2006/0006012 on Jan. 12, 2006 to Khouw et al. teaches the use of a serpentine air flow. Applicants discovered that this configuration creates turbulence in the incoming air stream and can lead to losses in air flow and engine power. U.S. Pat. No. 7,237,635 also teaches utilizing screens and seals in the air intake system in order to filter out particles in the air. These additional parts increase the overall costs of the air intake system, moreover, they can also lead to greater losses and/or inefficiencies in managing air flow to the engine. Moreover, snow, ice and other particles can build up on screens to effectively reduce the amount of air flow to the engine.
Therefore it is desirable to have an air intake system that reduces the amount of unwanted particles flowing through to the engine. It is also desirable to have an air intake system that efficiently manages air flow and minimizes the amount of additional parts required for the system.